How To Buy Rare & Authentic Vintage Sunglasses
At the Vintage Sunglasses Shop, we want you to learn about the superior quality and style of authentic vintage sunglasses c 1940s - 1990s. We also want to help you pick the right sunglasses for you and your lifestyle; this means not just choosing appealing styles but also selecting the right optics to protect your eyes and learning how we protect you against the very real risk of buying fakes.
Major Brands & Designers
At Vintage Sunglasses Shop, we take pride in really knowing vintage sunglasses. We study the construction, test the lenses, and look for nuances in how major designer styles changed over certain periods of years. We do this both because we need to vet all of the vintage designer sunglasses we sell for period authenticity and because we are passionate about the quality and style of vintage sunglasses. Read about the history of famous brands and some of their most important innovations:
Ray-Ban,
Revo,
Giorgio Armani,
Carrera,
Vuarnet,
Oakley,
Versace,
Serengeti,
Persol,
Cazal,
Bolle,
Oliver Peoples,
Gargoyles, and more.
The History of Sunglasses
The Chinese began using colored
lenses in eyewear in the 1300s, where Chinese judges sometimes wore
smoke colored quartz crystal lenses to hide their eye expressions
in court. A judge's evaluation of evidence as credible or not was
to remain secret until a trial's conclusion. In the 1400s the Chinese
also introduced the concept of smoke tinting to darken eyeglasses.
Like earlier quartz lenses, darkened lenses did not correct vision
nor were they initially intended to reduce solar glare.
Sunglasses Styles By Decade
The golden age of sunglasses
for both styling and optical quality innovation occurred during the
middle to later years of the 20th century, from the early 1960s through
the 1990s. During each decade, sunglasses styles evolved to represent the feelings of the
times and the market was dominated by smaller and more nimble companies
as well as major new market entrants during each decade.
Don't Be Fooled By Fakes
You can buy authentic vintage
sunglasses at auction - if you're either very knowledgeable or very
lucky. Because of prices and demand, vintage sunglasses are widely
counterfeited just like antiques, and a simple Google search for Ray-Ban
will turn up plenty of Chinese and Asian suppliers of fakes. Some sell these counterfeits knowingly to cheat people, and others buy fakes unknowingly and then resell them at auction, not realizing they are contributing to the problem.
Choosing The Right Lens Color and Tints
Vintage sunglasses can be found
in a wide variety of colors and lens tints, and selecting the right
lens colors based upon your lifestyle and environment is important
to maximize performance and your enjoyment wearing great vintage designer
sunglasses. While not meant to be definitive nor absolute, the staff
of the Vintage Sunglasses Shop has compiled a few color hints to help
you decide on the best lens colors for you. Sunglasses are perhaps
most associated with consistently colored lenses in many different
hues.
Choosing The Right Sunglasses For Your Face Shape
Selecting the right size and shape of vintage sunglasses to complement the shape of your face is important to get the best possible look, sure to attract attention and compliments. Learn how to determine what kind of face shape you have with some easy to do measurements along with our recommendations of some specific brands and styles of vintage designer sunglasses best suited for your unique characteristics.
UV and Blue Light Eye Protection
Not all sunglasses block 100% of harmful ultraviolet (UV) or High Energy Visible (HEV) rays, and cheap sunglasses are essentially worthless - little more than colored plastic or glass. The same is true of the out-of control proliferation of fake, reproduction designer sunglasses. Rare vintage sunglasses have been specially targeted for fakes due to the often high prices they bring in the marketplace relative to new sunglasses.
Polarized Versus Mirrored Sunglasses
Polarized lenses help reduce glare, which can be a real problem in water sports and many other outdoor activities. Polarized sunglasses have been popular for years with boaters and fishermen who need to reduce reflected glare from the water surrounding them. Ambient light, or the light we use to see, is comprised of light waves that vibrate in an infinite number of directions, but these light waves will reflect off of flat or shiny surfaces.
